Burning Water REMAKE
by Calico134
Summary: Remake of the original. After managing to escape the Fire Nation, the last thing Hikari wants is to join the number one group being hunted by them. But what choice does she have? She can't go back and she can't hide. All she can do is face her destiny.
1. Waking Up

I stopped writing on this fanfiction for a while, and when I came back to it I realized that there were a lot of things that I wanted to change. So this version is a lot like the original, just with corrections, additions, and more. So I hope you all enjoy it! Please let me know what you think

{BURNING WATER}

The ice felt cold against my face. I wanted to roll over and somehow avoid this coldness, like it was just a random patch. But it was everywhere, stinging my skin and making hard to stay unconscious, the way I preferred to be at the moment.

I didn't know how long I had been running, but I couldn't run anymore. Escaping the Fire Nation was difficult, but I could always hide in the Northern Water Tribe (perks of being a water bender). It was simple. All I had to do was find a relatively unguarded area of the wall, unfreeze it, and then freeze it back. It was utterly undetectable. If only I had acquired warmer clothes before I had come. But there was just not enough time. They were probably hot on my trail already.

Footsteps alerted me of a presence before his shadow fell across my limp form. I could feel him brush my hair away and check for a pulse. I shifted towards him, he was warm.

"What's your name?" I heard.

His voice was fuzzy as I struggled to remain conscious.

"Hikari," I whispered. Whoever it was had to be of some help. I couldn't stay out here forever and I had nowhere to go.

He cradled me against him as I lost all coherent thought and a black wave engulfed me.

{BURNING WATER}

I woke to muted voices and warmth. I shook my head only to have a wave of pain shoot through me. Reluctant to be in pain anymore, I settled for just laying there and listening.

"Sokka, she's awake," a female voice murmured excitedly.

Rustling sounded and a hand was placed on my forehead. I hesitated opening my eyes, but ended up face-to-face with a girl close to my age. Her blue eyes stood out strikingly against her dark skin and dark locks of brown hair were braided neatly down her back. She stood and removed her hand, the expression on her face letting me know that she was taking my temperature seriously.

I closed my eyes again, wanting to sleep more than anything. There was more rustling, and I felt another blanket slide over my body.

"Where did you find her again?" I heard the girl whisper. I didn't know that there was another person in the room, but I assumed from her question that it had to be the one who found me.

"She was in an alleyway. I don't know where she came from or how she got in. But that's it," he seemed to have explained this many times, but the girl only huffed.

"What were you doing out late anyway?" the girl grumbled. I rolled onto my side and the head-splitting pain returned. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you? I thought you had gone back to sleep."

I blinked my eyes open and cringed at the bright lighting in the room. Noticing this, someone quickly snuffed out most of the lanterns.

"I'm Katara, and this is my brother Sokka," the girl told me when she was sure that she had my attention.

Behind her was a tall boy whose blue eyes matched Katara's. He couldn't have been more than fifteen, and his brown hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. He was watching me curiously.

"Where am I?" I questioned.

"You're in the Northern Water Tribe," Katara replied sweetly.

Well, I knew that.

"Yes, but where?" I pressed.

"In our tent, we've been staying here for about a week," Katara replied. I sat up quickly, but soon realized that it was a bad idea. Pain traveled up my spine and spread throughout my head. Did I hit my head or something? I couldn't remember.

"How long have I been out?"

"About two days." My stomach growled and I looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"Sounds like someone is hungry!" a new voice exclaimed from the entrance of the tent.

A boy lifted away the tent flap and stepped inside. He was as young as twelve and had no hair, but arrow shaped blue tattoos were painted plainly on his skin. Anyone could plainly see that he was an airbender, and for a second the sheer oddity of it made me laugh. Katara eyed me worriedly, probably wondering if they had let a complete lunatic into their home.

"I'm Aang, the Avatar," he greeted, totally unfazed. I gave him a small smile and slung my legs carefully over the edge of the bed, as to not hurt myself any further. My stomach spoke again and Katara giggled.

"Let's get you something to eat. And you probably want some warmer clothes, right? You nearly froze out there in_ that_," she teased, leading me to the other side of the tent.

She dug around in a chest on the far corner, and pulled out a few articles of clothing. She set them in my hands and smiled. Did she expect me to change right here? I looked at the boys, who were staring at us. I then looked back at her. She instantly understood. After shooing the boys out, I changed into the warmer set of clothes and sat around the fire pit at the center of the tent. Katara handed me a bowl of some sort of stew. It smelled fishy, but I was too hungry to complain.

I ate in silence for what seemed an eternity before Katara spoke. "So Sokka told me your name is Hikari," she mentioned. My mouth was full, so I only nodded. It was quiet again; the only sound to be heard was me shoveling the food into my mouth. It burnt my tongue but it was the first thing I had eaten in a few days.

"What are you doing so far from the Fire Nation?" Katara wondered quietly.

The question caught me off guard until I remembered that up until about thirty minutes ago I had been dressed in Fire Nation clothing. I thought back to the day that I had left, about a week ago. I didn't own any warm clothes for the frozen environment of the North Pole but I didn't let that stop me. I took what I needed, and I left in the dead of night. And what a surprise it was that I had actually been successful. Yes, they had been after me the first few days, but after I passed through the Earth Kingdom, they had lost track of me. I realized suddenly that I had been thinking deeply and forgotten to answer Katara's question.

"I'm not from the Fire Nation, if that's what you're thinking," I muttered.

"But you're clothes…" Katara protested. I didn't want to tell her that she was wrong, because she had obviously seen my clothes. There was no around it. Besides, she was nice enough to feed me and clothe me so I didn't see why I shouldn't at least tell her something about me. She was digging her own hole with the questions.

"Those damn bastards are the reason I can't be with my mother. Yes, I used to live there, but I'm not _from_ there," I hissed. Katara visibly jumped at the remark and I expected her eyes to fill with pity as most did. But all I saw was cold understanding.

"The Fire Nation killed my mother. All I have now is her necklace." Her hand drifted to the dark blue choker tied around her neck.

I sighed heavily, setting down the empty bowl that I had been eating out of. Katara took it and filled it half-way. She then handed it back. "Then you understand. Most just pity me. I can't go anywhere there without their piteous looks."

"In the Fire Nation? How do you walk freely as a water bender?" Katara asked in wonder. I looked at her in astonishment, barely managing to swallow my mouthful of food before I choked.

"How did you know?" I spit out.

"Well how else would someone be able to get past the Northern Water Tribe walls?" She laughed, stirring the mixture in the stew pot. I was sure that she wasn't cooking it anymore, so maybe it was just out of habit. The sound of the spoon scraping the bottom of the pot filled the tent. Neither of us said a word.

"The people of the Fire Nation knew what I was. They revered me for it, and they feared me," I stopped talking, catching myself. I was saying too much. I didn't want to scare her off.

"What are you, then?" she asked, confused. She was staring into the fire as she asked, and it reflected in her eyes eerily.

"I—I don't want to talk about this," I told her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Katara murmured, averting her eyes and dropping the subject. Silence settled in and I finished my second bowl of food. I momentarily wondered where the boys had gone for so long.

"So you want to know why I am here," I stated. Katara nodded her head solemnly, and turned away from the fire to look at me intensely.

"I came here because it was my only escape. Away from that damned Fire Nation." I clenched my fist. Katara placed her hand over my fist gently, and I slowly unwound it until my hand was flat on the fur rug underneath us. I stared at our hands until I felt her eyes on me. She was staring at me intently, an idea lighting her eyes.

"You are welcome to journey with us," she offered quietly.

I matched her stare equally, considering the opportunity. Should I take her up on her offer? It honestly beat wandering from house to house. I had no where to stay, no way to make money, and I didn't know anyone. It seemed that this girl was giving me the chance that I had been secretly hoping for.

But I worried. It wouldn't be right to endanger someone who was only trying to help me. Maybe it would be for the best if I just left. "Would it be worth the danger?" I decided to ask. "I am worth much to the Fire Nation," I warned. She simply chuckled.

"And the Avatar isn't? It seems that you and Aang are on the same boat."

I stared at the rug beneath us, then at the fire. Was it worth it? I think it was. At least here I have allies. More than I did in the Fire Nation.

It seems that it has been settled, then.


	2. Memories

Alright! This gives a little more insight into who Hikari is and why she is that way. You'll have to be patient with me when it comes to re-writing this. Some of the chapters will seem exactly the same, and some will be completely new. Thanks for reading!

{BURNING WATER}

"_Hikari…" a gentle voice called._

_I wanted to say 'not now' like a normal child, but what choice did I have? I rose out of bed and followed the lady dressed completely in black. It was time for my training, part of my daily ritual since I was old enough to bend. She took me to the brightly lit court yard, and I wondered why today seemed a bit different. There were spectators today, I decided; finely dressed ones at that. Most likely some of the Fire Lord's close advisors, here to see his majesty's greatest achievement._

"_Listen here Hikari." The sweetness in her voice made me sick. I hated the lady in black. I never knew her name, but that didn't matter. I never wanted to address her by a name anyway. She wasn't a person. She was a minion._

_A young boy, near my age, was led into the court yard and stopped opposite of me. He took a fighting stance and I was confused. This was different on a huge scale; I had only used my bending on dummies! His fighting posture was horrific, and he shook terribly. His skin clung to his bones like a wet rag, and he was covered in dirt. But what I remember to this day was his eyes, haunting and gaunt as they were, and sunken into his skull. I fidgeted under his blank stare._

"_You will fight this boy, but not until that man finishes speaking. Now be quiet and stand still," the lady in black snapped._

"_Welcome. I see that everyone is in attendance. The Fire Lord is pleased to know that his advisors take interest in his experiment," the man began. "She is quite a strong bender. We have trained and documented her progress. She is the first successful bi-bender in history. Both fire and water are under her control."_

_The group gave a chaste chorus of claps. That's all I had amounted to be, a sick hybrid._

"_She is the ultimate weapon of the Fire Nation. If all goes accordingly, we will soon acquire an army of fighters of her stature. And to think, she is merely eight years of age." _

_That's all I was, a weapon._

"_Begin," the lady in black whispered in my ear._

_I stepped closer to the boy, and the crowd took steps backwards and formed a ring around us. We began the circling, the dance that began every fight. I lashed out at him with a whip of water, accentuated with a spiral of fire. The group gave pleased applause. The boy landed with a thump and I froze his hands to the ground before he could move. I stung him with whip after whip of water after that. I was just a thing, not a person. I had no feelings. I was merciless, heartless._

"_Well done, child," the speaking man said. I had no feelings, but I hated him too. I don't even think he knew my name. Not that he would bother to use it._

"_This way," she whispered, the lady in black, moving me inside. "It's time to get you cleaned up."_

_I looked down at my clothes, distinguishing dark spots on the red fabric. Blood. I looked back at my opponent, who still lay frozen to the ground. His blood had mixed with some of the melting ice, creating a disturbing scene. His blank eyes stared back at me, but I realized that this time it was because he was dead._

"_Hurry now." The last look I stole was of a few fire benders gathered around the boy._

_They did not bother with slowly melting the ice or picking it away. Instead they just lit the boy on fire. I could still feel his eyes on me as he was engulfed in flames._

_I had not cried before that night. I could not forget the boy. I had nightmares, always with his eyes staring, pleading, to end him. Or to save him, I could not tell. I dreamed of what his life was like, free of what I had to bear._

_I dreamed of what his family was like. What his mother would say when she got the news, that another child had killed her child? I dreamed of the Fire Nation's brutality. I wish I could speak to the boy, even to this day, and apologize. But some things are never possible._

_I was woken early in the morning, apparently for a meeting with the Fire Lord himself. I had seen him many times, as he watched my training with a close eye. The lady in black practically pulled me by the hand towards the Fire Lord's chamber. But I was still plagued by horrifying images of yesterday's events. _

_The speaking man greeted us at the door, and took in my sleep deprived appearance. He exchanged irritated words with the lady in black, before she pulled me to the side, straightening my clothes and hair. When the speaking man seemed satisfied, he opened the door for us. _

"_My, my…" the Fire Lord began after we were seated. "You've progressed nicely. How did the fight turn out yesterday?" _

_He was addressing the speaking man. He cleared his throat before replying._

"_Very well; she won without challenge. I hope to find her a stronger opponent to widen her skills." _

_The Fire Lord nodded. "I agree. She is simply marvelous. A fighting genius, but with societal manners."_

_It was at this time I noticed Azula seething not too far from us, obviously observing from the concealment of a column. Her eyes held a fire that frightened me, but I did not let that show. To do so would only give her an advantage._

_The Fire Lord dismissed us shortly, and I was allowed the freedom of roaming the court yard. I loved the duck pond. Usually I was kept under close surveillance. They wanted to take no chances with me escaping. But at this moment, I was completely free. The speaking man had paper work to do, and the lady in black was called off to assist a royal family member. Not even a guard was posted in their absence. Maybe they had forgotten._

_I sat quietly in the shade of a tree by the duck pond, enjoying the experience of being completely alone. But that experience was short-lived. Azula parked herself right next to me and her menacing presence was nearly overwhelming._

"_So, Daddy likes you. Let's hope it's not better than me. He's sure to like me better," she enlightened me._

"_Really? It seems he's taken quite a liking in me. Feeling threatened, princess?" I rarely talked, but that was because I knew what I could say._

_Most things would have me dead. She huffed and jumped to her feet. _

"_Damn you to hell!" she screamed, flinging a string of fire in my direction._

_I had little time to react; my only chance was leaping out of the way. I inspected my injuries: only a burn to the wrist._

"_You're going to be sorry you were ever born!" she growled._

_I ran to a more open space, and she grabbed at my shirt, ripping it open in the back. I kicked her foot out from under her and she collapsed in a dusty heap. _

"_Bitch!" I wondered how she got away with this language. I imagine she didn't._

_I smiled victoriously, but she rose quickly and slapped me. She attacked me furiously afterwards, fire whip in hand. It stung, but I knew that I could not bend on the Fire Nation Princess. I would be punished mercilessly if I did. And it would be far worse than this. _

_I curled in on myself, wishing for the lady in black or the speaking man to come to my aid. But they did not come soon enough. I was burned, and scarred. The terrible sensation of her fire on my burning flesh was etched into my memory._

I woke with a start, causing Katara to moan and roll to her side, facing away from me. I sighed, pushing myself from the bed. I felt better moving around. I guess the ice had irritated my scars, bringing back unwanted memories from a life I wished I could forget.

My brown hair, which I highly prized because it was the most dominant trait I had received from my mother, was a curly tangled mess. It was always curly, which was unusual in the Fire Nation. It made me smile. It stuck to my sweat leaden forehead that I wiped with a damp rag. I lifted up the back of my shirt, inspecting the red scars. They stretched across my back hideously. When they became irritated I would always try to lay as still as possible and beg someone to tell me why _scars _could hurt so much. But I learned that moving was usually the best remedy.

It had been six years since that day. But I never forgot it. I was a different person. I felt things now, didn't I?

"Those are some nasty scars."

I jumped at the new voice, yanking down my shirt. Aang stood leaning against the door frame. I relaxed slightly, knowing that he would not be as surprised by my scars as Katara would have.

"That's the Fire Nation for you; Princess Azula to be exact," I informed him drily. I didn't want him to know how much it bothered me.

"Really? How did it happen?" he questioned.

I made my way past him out of the bathroom. "You would like to know."

"Yes, I would."

I froze and turned back to him, surprised that he did not catch the hint that I would rather not talk about it. What was wrong with him?

I frowned. "Look kid, there are some things that are just better left unsaid. Stay innocent okay? Because there are some things in this world that will rip you to shreds."

"Like knowing it's entirely your fault that everyone you ever knew is dead, because you decided to run away?" I wondered if he expected me to look away guiltily, but I held his gaze. I could see the storm raging within them.

"You might want to get to bed; we have lessons in the morning," he said to break the dense silence.

I nodded, thinking better of arguing about the idea of lessons. I slid back under the covers, releasing another long sigh. I would never forget the brutality of the Fire Nation. No matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to forget.


	3. A New Friend

"Hikari?" Katara murmured, shaking my shoulder gently. "It's time to wake up. We have to leave soon."

I groaned and tried to roll over, but Katara was persistent. She yanked my sleeping bag open and I shivered. "Katara!" I whined, and sat up. She laughed and flung a new outfit at me. It was a blue tunic with darker blue pants, and a fur-lined coat to go over it. I stood to get dressed. It seemed that Katara had already shooed the boys outside.

In the past week that I had been living with Katara, Sokka, and the Avatar, I felt like I had found the freedom I had been looking for. I found myself doing things that I wouldn't normally do and wonder if it was just the new environment or if it was something the true me wanted to do, but never had the chance to.

I pulled on a pair of fur-lined boots quickly, and ran to where my three new friends were waiting outside the tent. Well, I wasn't sure whether to call them friends or not. I really had only one friend back in the Fire Nation, and he was one that I had no intention of thinking about ever again. So, could I call them my friends?

The sun rose silently over the horizon as we climbed the stairs to wherever we were training. It was my first time going with them, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to it. Training had been a daily part of my life when I was in the Fire Nation. Now that I was away from there, I was constantly finding things that reminded me of that time.

"Hikari! Come on!" Aang called from the top of the stairs.

"Coming!" I shouted back. I took the stairs two at a time, and quickly reached Aang and Katara.

"Glad to see that you are on time." I turned to see a man who I assumed was the master. First thing noted: he was old. Second thing: he was a waterbender. Well this _was_ the North Pole. Was I expecting anything different?

"This is Master Pakku." Katara motioned to the man.

"It is very nice to meet you." I bowed politely.

"Well, I've heard about you; the little Fire Nation runaway." My eyes widened and I glared at Katara. She shook her head and pointed at Aang. He grinned and shrugged sheepishly. "Let's see what you can do." He smiled and slid into a fighting stance. I returned the smile, following in turn by preparing myself.

"Bring it on, old man."

He made the first move, sending a wall of water in my direction. I held my hand out straight, and the water exploded in an arc around me. He attacked me from the side with two swirling streams of water. At the last minute I jumped into the air and executed a flip, and landed directly where my feet had been before. They hadn't moved an inch.

"Impressive," Master Pakku conceded, but was quick on his feet with shards of ice flying at me.

Sliding my hand in an arc, a sheet of ice caused a rebound of the shards. Without a second to spare they melted and reformed into a ball of water that I surged toward him. He quickly moved to dodge it, but I'd planned that through too. On the opposite sides, walls of water closed in, and it caught him off guard.

Making quick work, I used the three groups of water to spin a tight ball; hollow of course. Freezing it, I smiled triumphantly. Master Pakku tapped on the inside, and I wondered why he didn't unfreeze it. The watching group erupted in laughter.

"Well done. I see you have been trained well." He unfroze the ball, and it dropped limply to the ground.

"Thank you." I bowed again, pleased that he was pleased.

I think it was the first time that someone ever praised me simply because they were happy with me.

{BURNING WATER}

"I can see why you are so highly prized to the Fire Nation." Katara said later, as we watched the sun set. "You're a very good waterbender." I made a noise of confirmation in my throat to let her know that I had heard her. I actually wasn't sure if I could fight without using my firebending. I had always trained while using both at the same time. But I found that this time I was able to do it, and I was glad. I didn't want them to know unless they absolutely had to. Yes, they knew I was important to the Fire Nation. But they didn't know why. And if we were ever caught, then that might be the difference between life and death for them.

It was my suggestion to take a walk, hers to stop and watch the sunset. I enjoyed spending time with another girl, considering all I had in the royal palace was Azula and her minions. There was this time though, that I managed to escape the guards outside the palace. I ran into a girl my age. But she had disappeared not long after, so I had no chance to become her friend.

"How did you escape?" Katara's question broke through my thoughts.

"It's a long story. One I'd rather not tell," I answered.

"Ok. I understand," she murmured.

My thoughts drifted to the week I had spent on my own. It was the first time I had ever had to really fend for myself. There was no one there for me, and I was the only one who could ensure my survival. It was an experience I did not wish to relive. But I suppose that it was better than staying the in the Fire Nation.

"Do you really?" I asked her suddenly. She looked at me, her blue eyes questioning.

"I understand that you've been through a lot, and that you don't have anyone to be there for you," she whispered. I opened my mouth to reply, but she continued. "And I want you to understand that I'll always be here for you."

We locked eyes and it was quiet for a moment. Katara turned back to the sunset, smiling.

"Thank you," was all I could say. Maybe I had made a friend after all.


	4. Rice

"Aang and I will be back after practice. There are some cooking ingredients over there if you want to make anything and the fire wood is there. If you need us then you know where we are. See you later Hikari," Katara called as she followed Aang out of the tent. Master Pakku had deemed me in no need of lessons so I was stuck killing time until they returned. Even Sokka was gone, doing who knows what.

I sat quietly in the tent for a few minutes. I really had no idea what to do. I was desperate enough to have the company of Sokka right now, despite how bad I felt when Katara had first pointed out that I didn't respond to Sokka and Aang like I did to her. I didn't want to tell her that it was because of past experiences, but I couldn't leave her without a reason. She practically attacked me for it.

"_Hikari! Come on! There must be a reason why you don't trust them as much as you trust me," Katara pleaded._

"_Katara, I really don't want to talk about this. It's something I have to get over by myself," I hissed. Katara raised an eyebrow threateningly._

"_You always deal with things on your own! Now that you finally have someone, why won't you open up?" she shouted. Aang and Sokka had been sitting on the other side of the tent while we talked quietly, but now that we were shouting they had slipped out of the tent unnoticed._

"_It's easier said than done, Katara! It's not as simple as you asking and me pouring out my feelings and memories to you! I grew up being taught that I was nothing more than an object. I was a _weapon_! There was no one for me to talk to because I was supposed to have no feelings!" I screamed back. We were both standing and huffing and puffing from yelling._

"_You never had any friends in the Fire Nation?" she asked quietly. I guess she got tired of shouting._

"_I had one. And I was that I had never knew him," I whispered fiercely. I wrapped my arms tightly around my center and sunk to the floor. I was already emotionally drained and I wanted to go to sleep._

"_Him?" Katara echoed me. I nodded my head. "Then that's why you don't trust guys very well." I quirked an eyebrow at her. She was deep in thought._

"_Can I go to bed now?" I asked after she hadn't said anything else._

"_I guess, if you want. But you have to promise me that you will try to get over this trust issue with boys, okay? You have to realize that just because a guy hurt you in the past does not mean that every guy you ever meet will do the same thing. You have to get over your fear," she murmured._

_I shrugged. "I don't have a fear of boys," I said as I snuggled into my sleeping bag._

"_If you say so," Katara whispered, half to herself. She was satisfied, so I told myself that I would try to trust them. They would at least be my friends, if nothing else._

So I was left with the dilemma of how to improve my relationship with both boys. I have to say that I felt more comfortable with Aang than I did with Sokka. Maybe it was because Aang was more feminine? Who knows?

I stood and wandered over to where Katara had said the foodstuffs were. There was a bag of rice, and a few other things like vegetable and dried meats. I picked up the rice and went over to the fire and pot in the middle of the room. I built up the fire and started boiling some water. Maybe making food for the guys (and Katara) when they returned home would improve our relationship. I sighed. Since when did I strive so hard for relationships? _Since you finally have some worth improving, _I told myself.

The water came to a boil and I dumped the rice in. I was peeling carrots when Sokka strolled into the tent. I raised an eyebrow at him when he leaned over the pot and inspected the rice that I was cooking.

"Making lunch?" he asked.

"Yep. Thought you guys might like it. I mean, since you've all been taking care of me it's the least I can do," I explained.

"You didn't have to. But it looks good." Sokka smiled and went across the room to rummage through some things.

I stirred the rice and went back to my carrots. Five minutes later Sokka broke me out of my thoughts. "Hikari! Be careful! You're rice…!" he shouted as he dashed over. But he didn't make it in time. I shielded my face as my pot of rice overflowed and exploded.

I blinked open my eyes to find me and Sokka covered in clumps of rice. "Oops," I apologized, picking bits of rice out of my hair.

Sokka started laughing. "Great spirits, Hikari. How do you blow up rice? I mean, it's rice!" I started laughing too.

"Well, I never had to cook anything on my own. So I guess that's how." I shrugged. I began cleaning up the rice, and Sokka stooped to help. "You don't have to help. I made the mess," I protested.

"It's not a problem," Sokka said.

We cleaned up the rice in silence and I sighed. I failed at making lunch. What was I going to do now?

"Do you want me to help you finish lunch?" Sokka asked to my surprise.

"That would be great! Would you really?"

"Yeah, why not? I mean, you were making this for Aang and Katara right?"

"Yes." Sokka knelt and started making more rice. I finished peeling the carrots and heated some of the meat over the fire. By the time Katara and Aang returned, everything was set and ready. Katara and Aang caught sight of the food quickly and sat down to eat.

"Did you make this Hikari?" Aang asked, surprised.

"Yeah, with a little help that is." I eyed Sokka. Katara smiled a small smile at me. I knew what she was thinking.

The food was devoured in a short matter of time, and Katara and Aang left to practice. Sokka had somewhere to be also, but stayed to help me clean things up. "Thank you," I whispered when I knew that only he was listening.

"It's not a problem. You know that if you ever need help you can come to me," Sokka offered, and then slipped out of the tent.

Maybe I wouldn't have as hard a time as I thought I would.


	5. Flowers and a Cave

Alright, so a little quick at the beginning, but a lot of plot development at the end. Hope this wasn't totally sudden! But I had to do it to get the plot bunny hoppin'!

{BURNING WATER}

Waking to the Fire Nation at the Northern Water Tribe's doorstep was not the most pleasant way to start off the morning. But instead of going with Katara, Yue, and Aang to the Spirit Oasis, I chose to stay and fight. Seeing Aang's power was amazing. I finally understood why he was such a threat to the Fire Nation. And _poor_ General Zhao; I always hated him.

I really think we left the Northern Water Tribe too quickly. It was my safe haven, but Master Pakku deemed Katara able to teach Aang well. So that meant it was time for them to leave. Time for me to leave.

Now I sat quietly next to Appa, with the nomads that we had been recently travelling with. I thought that leaving the North Pole would be detrimental to my safety, but it actually wasn't that bad, especially with people there to watch my back. Sokka and I had gotten along amazingly since the rice incident. Well, as far as 'amazingly' went with my usual sarcastic attitude.

One of the female nomads was braiding flowers into my chocolate locks. I had changed clothes again, this outfit more appealing than the bulky furs. It was a halter top that showed my midriff, and some simple loose capris. Sokka was complaining again about which route to take, considering our last road was cut off.

"Just go through the cave Sokka! What are you, a big sissy-baby?" I taunted. He jumped to his feet, dashing over to confront me.

"I am_ not_! If you're so clever, then you find a way to get to Omashu!" he shouted.

"I _just_ said that we should just go through the cave-tunnel thingy," I said drily.

Aang and Katara laughed, and since the lady had finished, I hopped off of Appa. Sokka stood with his mouth hanging open, dumfounded. It'd been like this between me and Sokka since I had gotten over what Katara now referred to as my "number one fear." But I still owed Sokka my life, and I counted him as one of my closest friends.

"Let's get walking, then!" I clapped my hands over my head and started into the darkness.

Everyone followed a bit slower, and that was fine because it wasn't like we were in any hurry. I turned back to yell at them to hurry up, but the words died in my mouth when I spotted the Fire Nation tanks charging in our direction. Everyone started to run into the tunnel while bending at the tanks at the same time.

"Damn, they just don't give up!" I laughed, trying to cover up how terribly nervous I was. My hands were shaking so I hid them behind my back. But my smile quickly disappeared as we were engulfed in darkness. I was not expecting them to block the entrance to the tunnel.

"Guess we don't have much of a choice now do we?" Katara said as Sokka grumbled to the front of the crowd. He inspected the map grasped in his hands and began to lead the way through the tunnel. After a while, I became impatient.

"Are we there yet?" I groaned. It had been several hours, and as far as I could tell we had just been walking in circles.

"No!" Sokka shouted. "This is why we should have found another way to Omashu!"

"And what? Wait for the Fire Nation soldiers to come to us?" I growled.

"No!" Sokka shouted again, and Katara rolled her eyes at us. I sighed loudly, just to annoy Sokka. It would have gotten a great reaction out of him, if we all hadn't been knocked to the ground by the shaking earth. Everything rocked back and forth and there was no way anyone could keep their balance.

"What _is_ that?" Katara shouted over the rumbling.

Rocks dropped heavily to the ground with a thump, and we dodged out of the way. It would be a shame if one of us was to get squashed. I placed a hand against the wall of the cave to try and steady myself, when a chunk of the wall broke off. Sokka quickly grabbed me by the waist and pulled me out of the way. I was out the minute we hit the ground.

{BURNING WATER}

"_Can you see it?" I asked._

"_No." I pulled him farther up the hill. It was a magical sight, the tall grass mixed with the wildflowers that touched the perfect blue sky. _

"_How about now?" _

"_No," he replied flatly. I tugged harder to reach the top of the hill. I didn't realize that I'd tripped until I felt the sharp pain in my knee. As I pulled it up to inspect it, I could see the scarlet drops pricking my skin._

"_The amazing bi-bender of the Fire Nation can take down an army, but cries at a scraped knee?" Zuko joked. He grasped my chin and lifted my face, wiping away a tear with his other hand. I blinked at him._

"_Come on." He kneeled down, and I linked my arms around his neck. He stood, lifting me from the ground, and pulled me securely to his back. I tried not to pay attention to the way he held onto my thighs. "We're here."_

_I peeked around Zuko's head to see that we had indeed reached the height of it. He set me down on a soft patch of grass, and reached for the bottom of his shirt, ripping off a shred. He wrapped it gently around my knee, and it made me wonder why he was never this gentle to me around the palace._

"_Thanks." _

_It was quiet for a moment._

"_I told you it's pretty," I whispered. He didn't reply. Instead he plucked a tiny white flower from the grass and placed it softly in my hair._

"_Zuko…" I didn't get a chance to finish as he placed his lips tenderly on mine._

_I was never much for his delicateness. He touched me as if I would break, or disappear in the next second. I responded with a much more passionate kiss, pushing him backwards in the grass. Until I remembered my painful knee. I rolled onto my back next to him, laughing._

"_I swear, there's no one like you," he murmured. I scooted closer to him and placed my hand on his chest, giggling._

"_Zuko, I've been told that all my life. Can't you be a little more original?" He smiled, one of the few times. One of the times I got to see, because it was for me. He kissed me again and I laid my head on his chest._

_I'm going to miss you._

"Hikari, wake up." Sokka's soft voice invaded my dreaming, and I woke with a start.

"What happened?"

"The cave roof collapsed, we were separated from everyone else," he explained.

"Oh, ok." I guess being around grass again instead of ice had triggered the memory, or maybe it was being happy again. I had not dreamed of Zuko since I'd left, and I didn't plan on it. The reminder of him made my heart squeeze.

"Ummm, Hikari?"

"Mmmm?" I made a noise in the back of my throat because I was too lazy to actually use words.

"Can you get off me? I think we need to get out of this tunnel."

I opened my eyes to be face-to-face with Sokka.

"Whoa!" I pushed myself away quickly, the intimacy of the situation scaring me.

"Relax." Sokka stood and brush himself off, being careful not to light himself on fire with the torch. He then helped me to my feet.

"So how do we get out?" I asked.

"I'm not sure." I huffed. So we were lost with half a torch in a hot and dark tunnel. Just wonderful! We wandered around for what seemed hours, but I imagine it was only about half an hour.

"This is hopeless," I said, deflated.

"No it's not, I'm sure we'll make it out," Sokka reassured me with a pat to the back.

I was burning up, so I reached back, pulling my hair up and holding it off my neck. A few flowers fell out of it in the process. The little white blossoms disappeared in the dark parts of the tunnel. Sokka was busy concentrating on the map, but looked up curiously, inspecting me up and down.

"What?" I gasped.

The heat was beginning to be a little much for me. I paid little attention to the clatter and rustling as Sokka's map fell to the ground. The next thing I felt were his lips on my neck, his hands knotting in my hair. His butterfly kisses moved up my neck and along my jaw line. He planted a hungry kiss on my lips, and I felt like melting into his arms.

He let out a startled cry as I pushed him away.

"What the hell?" I screamed. Though I was just as much at fault, I directed my anger at him. "What's wrong with you? Do you think you can just waltz over and kiss any girl?"

"You're not just any girl."

"Geez, can't you be more original?" I hissed, and picked up his map. "We really have to get out of here." Sokka was watching me again, and I shifted awkwardly. He noticed this and picked up the torch that he had dropped also. "Let's try this way," I said, pointing. I started off in that direction and Sokka followed. With me leading, we got out of the cave in no time. But I was more concerned with what could possibly be going through Sokka's head.


	6. Swampy Hallucinations

I flopped down onto the middle of the saddle unceremoniously. I couldn't care less about the fact that I accidentally knocked over Katara's box of scrolls as she was reading, or that I kicked Sokka in the head as I laid down.

"Hikari!" both of them scolded simultaneously. I simply sighed. I was tired of flying.

"What?" I groaned.

I brought my limbs closer to me, and Katara began picking up her scrolls and put them away.

"I know we've been flying for a while. We all just need to relax a little…" Katara started to say. But I stopped listening and sat up quickly as I felt Appa begin to descend.

"What's up, Aang? Are we taking a break or something?" Sokka questioned. Peering over the side of the bison saddle. Aang didn't respond, so Sokka called his name again.

"Huh? What? Did you say something Sokka? I wasn't listening," he finally said.

"He asked why we're going down. Are you landing?" I repeated.

"No…" Aang answered mysteriously and looked down at the swamp below us. It was unnaturally green and it gave an ominous aura. I would frankly take another hour of flying than land in that creepy place. Especially now that I had given up my firebending. It would take a lot of discipline and a close watch when I am angry, but I would be able to do it.

From now on I was just a waterbender.

I would be normal for once. A single bender with normal friends and a safe place to belong. And that's all I need and will ever need. Right?

"This might sound strange," Aang began, breaking me out of my thoughts, "but I think the swamp is calling to me."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty strange," Sokka chirped.

"Should we land down there?" he asked.

"I would rather we not do that," I huffed, eyeing the weird thatch of nature. "I mean, it's just plain creepy."

"I have to agree with Hikari," Katara added at last, and Aang looked back at all of us.

"Well since everyone feels so strongly about this, then I guess we're passing the swamp." He pulled the reins on Appa's horns up, lifting us farther into the clear sky. "Bye swamp."

I laid back down on the saddle, content to get away from the swamp. Though I had forgotten my earlier discontent at the long, continuous flight. It seems that I was full of contradictions. Of course, my life had always been like that.

"Aang! You might wanna hurry up that flying a bit!" Sokka shouted, and I sat up in irritation.

"Will you quit shouting, I'm trying to sleep!" I hissed.

"Well, I doubt that you will be able to sleep through that thing!" He pointed and I didn't need to follow his finger to see the giant spinning vortex of wind closely flowing our flying party.

"Aang, fly faster!" I yelled. Appa swerved in different directions to get out of the path of the tornado, but it followed our every turn. It was just unnatural! I could see immediately that it was pointless. The spinning wall of wind caught up to us, and try as he might Aang could not hold a shield over us to keep us together. We were shot out of the vortex and into the swamp. The tornado disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Ungh…" I groaned, rubbing my aching head. I guess I must've hit it on a tree root or rock or something. I sat up and then slowly stood, making sure that I didn't get up too fast. That wouldn't be too good on the throbbing in my head. I was knee-deep in swampy water, so I climbed onto a large tree root. At least then I wasn't wet.

"Aang? Katara? Sokka?" I called, looking around. All there was, was plants and vines and water and mud and nothing that would help me do anything. I gave an exasperated sigh and threw my hands up in the air. Well this was just great. I was just a normal waterbender, who happened to end up alone in a creepy swamp with no supplies and no sense of direction. Just wonderful!

I started walking, just because I had nothing better to do than to search for my friends. It would be better to do it during the day time anyway. The light was minimal as it was, so I knew that I wouldn't be able to find anyone when it got dark. I constantly called out to everyone, but no one returned my calls. After a few hours my voice began to crack and my throat was hurting.

"Aang, Sokka, someone, please…" My voice was hoarse. I flopped down on an open space of rock and rested for a moment. I should make a fire and get some sleep. I searched around for some wood and managed to collect enough for the night that wasn't completely water-logged. After I had set everything up, I remembered that I didn't have Appa or anyone or anything else. And that meant no spark rocks. Well, there wasn't anyone around. So I guess that it would be alright to firebend.

No! I was just a normal waterbender. I couldn't firebend. Even when there was no one around. If I really wanted to protect my friends then I wouldn't. I curled up on the cold rock and, without a fire, tried to get some sleep.

{BURNING WATER}

When I woke there was light streaming across my face. I guess that I had found a patch of swamp where the light was able to break through the trees. It felt nice to sit and bask in it for some time. After a while I figured I should get up and continue my search. So I did.

I stretched and walked around the rock, inspecting my surroundings. There was a small gap in the vines to my left that I could probably squeeze through. I'd go there first and see where it leads. As I was about to leave my rock, I spotted a figure standing in another patch of light across the swamp clearing. "Hey!" I called out to them. They didn't look like anyone I recognized, but they were someone and they had to know a way out of the swamp. I started running towards them.

As I got closer I noticed more about the person. It was a girl who was older than me, but not by more than a few years. She was very pale and slender, and she was wearing a gray-white dress. I could tell that it was not completely white because her hair was white. It was as white as arctic snow and tumbled past her waist. I ran faster.

"Hey!" I shouted at her.

She turned and peeked at me out of the corner of her eyes. They were the gray color of storm clouds. And then she took off running. She was extremely fast. And I lost sight of her multiple times. As I chased her I continued to shout at her to stop, or wait. But she kept running. All the while her dress stayed clean, despite running through all the muck and water.

"Please wait!" The girl suddenly stopped, but I was too far away to catch up with her. She turned to look at me once more, and then airbended herself up and into the trees until I could no longer see her.

I sat heavily on a tree root. So much for that. And since when were there other airbenders? I must be hallucinating on swamp fumes or lack of sleep or something. Whatever it was I needed to get out of here before I went absolutely bonkers.

I stayed on the tree root for what I figured was an hour. I didn't know where to begin. I had some hope of finding a way out of here, but that was crushed. Freakin' hallucination! I jumped up at a splash in the water next to me.

"You scare pretty easily, don't you?" Sokka's voice asked. I exhaled in exhaustion and relief.

"I don't scare easily," I hissed. "I'm just tired of being tired, and of hallucinations, and of being hungry." I leaped down to Sokka from the tree root. I stumbled slightly when I landed and he steadied me with his arms. I shied away. Sokka dropped his arms in disappointment and stepped away from me.

"So…" he began awkwardly, "Aang and Katara are waiting over there with the others. We heard you shouting so I came over here to find you."

I laughed. "Thanks. I really needed to find someone. I was about to go in the opposite direction." We started walking away from the tree root.

"Good thing I got here when I did then," Sokka said.

Something suddenly occurred to me. "Did you say 'the others'? Who else is here? You haven't made friends with any swamp creatures have you?" I asked in alarm.

Sokka chuckled. "No, no. Well," he paused, "I guess you could say that they are. In a way."


	7. Here's What Happened

"Shut up!" I flung myself out of bed, kicking Sokka out of my way in the process. I couldn't stand anymore of the yelling coming from that tiny little brat! I was tired from the swamp and the chase with Azula and her little minions. That was a reunion I was seriously not ready for. I was just glad that I had managed to stay away from them all.

Was it cowardly of me to go hide? There was just no other way to stay out of it. And it wasn't like they didn't believe me when I told them what had happened. Even though Toph can tell when someone is lying, it wasn't a complete lie so I'm pretty sure she wasn't able to tell. Even if she had then she hadn't said anything.

But after she started her teaching with Aang I had gotten no sleep at all. It wasn't fair and I was going to make her shut her stupid earthbending face!

"Ow!" Sokka whined as I made my way out of the tent.

"Oh suck it up," I spat back at him.

"You know, you're sexy when you're angry." He smiled lazily, propping himself up with an elbow. I raised an eyebrow then rolled my eyes.

"Come on Twinkletoes!" the tiny earthbender was yelling again. Outside she was drilling Aang on something that involved standing on top of tall stone and lifting a weight from one hand to the next. Why did she have to yell for something like that?

"Shut the hell up!" I shouted at the small earth bender.

"Well, good morning to you too, Firefly!" She gave a sarcastic wave and continued on with her torture on Aang.

"And stop with the damn nicknames!"

"Oh calm down, Hikari. She's only playing," Katara chided from the nearby pool. "Besides, Aang needs to learn earthbending. And that means Toph has to teach the way she has to teach. We all have to make sacrifices for Aang to learn these things."

"You're defending her?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah, Sugarqueen; you didn't seem too happy with your nickname earlier," Toph said.

Katara grumbled, and returned to her water bending. I sighed, ruffling my already wild hair. Now that Toph had joined our group every morning had been like this. It was making me grumpy. I felt arms slide around my waist as Sokka joined me outside. I swatted his shoulder and he backed off a bit.

"Uh, Hikari, why was Sokka in your tent?" Katara questioned. For a moment I wondered what she was talking about. And then I realized that she had seen him come out of my tent. She was walking toward us while ringing out her hair. Toph smiled wickedly while Aang looked up curiously.

I stretched; I was never the blushing type. "It's not what you think. He came on his own to my tent and I was too lazy to kick him out." I yawned. It was time for Sokka to be embarrassed. I smiled as he attempted to deny their accusatory statements. "Oh relax you guys." I pulled off my shirt revealing a bathing suit top, "It's not his fault I'm so good looking."

I discarded my capris while they stared silently. I gave another sigh.

"I'm joking." I said flatly, heading over to the pool. "I'm going to practice some bending. Katara?" I motioned for her to join me. She followed eager to get away from the rude earth bender.

It was quiet as we passed a stream of water between us. I thought that it was relaxing and peaceful, and I had to fight myself to not dose off. But Katara on the other hand was shooting skeptical looks at me. I quirked an eyebrow at her when I caught her staring. "Out with it. You obviously want to ask me something. What is it?"

She hesitated for a moment and then blurted out her question. "So why was Sokka in your tent? And I want the truth this time," Katara demanded as she passed the water back to me.

I sighed. "I did give you the truth. That's really what happened. Once I'm asleep I don't much like to be woken up. If you want his motives, you'll have to talk to Sokka," I answered.

Her eyes reviewed me suspiciously. "Is there something going on between you and Sokka?"

I dropped the water immediately.

"No! Ok? There's nothing going on! Can you just drop it?" I growled.

She scowled, straightening herself. "Fine," She said curtly. "But I'll be here when you want to talk." She waded to the other side of the pond, and I returned to absent mindedly bending.

What did happen last night?

_I rolled over, unable to get comfortable on this patch of rocky ground. Scooting this way and that didn't seem to help either. I finally gave up and sat up, leaning against the rocky wall of the tent. I wonder if I'm becoming an insomniac. My mind wandered to the hallucination at the swamp. It was creepy, but at least it would give me something to think about._

_Everyone but me had told of their visions in the swamp. Katara had seen her mother and Sokka had seen Yue. But they were people that they knew. Aang on the other had didn't know who the girl in his vision was. But we had found out that it led us to Toph. Did that mean that my path of travel was intended to intersect with this airbending girl?_

_I sighed. I didn't know any other airbenders and if I were to know another it would really freak me out. Not to mention Aang. That's why I didn't say anything. I had told them that my vision was about a squirrelcat. They figured maybe I would eat one for breakfast or get one as a pet. Whatever kept their minds busy was best, I guess._

_I didn't want to sleep on the hard ground, but I knew that I had to. Maybe in the morning I could ask if anyone has any other blankets that I could borrow. I laid back down and closed my eyes. I slowly drifted into a doze._

"_Hikari." The voice pervaded my light dreaming._

"_Wake up…" An unknown hand shook me. I moaned, shaking the hand off. There was a sudden pressure on my lips and my eyes flew open._

"_What the hell Sokka!" I shoved him away._

"_Sorry, you're just so cute when you're asleep," he admitted sheepishly._

"_No, I meant the fact that you're here. I told you this has got to stop!" I frowned._

_A voice in my head asked 'why?' and I figured it was better to ignore the voice. I had told Sokka a dozen times that we had no future together like this. First off, I didn't want to endanger him. Second, I didn't want to tell him that I technically still belonged to someone else. Even if I hadn't seen him in nearly three years._

"_You didn't seem to think that two nights ago," he said softly. I huffed, turning away from him to stare at the wall of my earthen tent Toph was nice enough to make for me._

"_Why does this bother you so much? We have feelings for each other don't we?" _

"_Do we?" I countered. "Or is this just a fun little affair?" I felt bad for saying such a thing, as I was equally participating and feeling feelings that I had no place to feel. It wasn't right and it wasn't fair to him._

_Sokka was silent, contemplating the thought._

"_I don't know." He sounded genuinely confused._

_I turned back to him, crossing my legs. I ran a hand through my ruffled hair and leaned back against the wall. A long breath escaped my lips and my eyes closed. I was becoming sleepy again. Sokka's hand tickled a warm trail down my arm, leaving goose bumps in its path._

_I didn't have to open my eyes to know that he had shifted closer to me. I smiled playfully and jumped into action, shoving him up against the opposite wall of the tent. He blinked in surprise._

"_Bet you weren't expecting that!" I laughed._

_I kissed him hungrily. I pulled back abruptly, and flopped over onto my sleeping bag. _

"_Night, I'm tired," I whispered._

_The last thing I heard before drifting into a peaceful sleep was Sokka whispering: "She's something else."_


End file.
